However, the influence of ω-3 PUFAs on colorectal cancer survival is unknown.

Within the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, Dr Mingyang Song and colleagues from Massachusetts, USA prospectively studied colorectal cancer-specific and overall mortality in a cohort of 1659 patients with colorectal cancer according to intake of marine ω-3 PUFAs and its change after diagnosis.

An increased ω-3 PUFA intake by 0.15 g/day after diagnosis had a hazard ratio of 0.30 for colorectal cancer deaths

Gut

The team found that compared with patients who consumed less than 0.10 g/day of marine ω-3 PUFAs, those consuming at least 0.30 g/day had an adjusted hazard ratio for colorectal cancer-specific mortality of 0.59.

The researchers observed that patients who increased their marine ω-3 PUFA intake by at least 0.15 g/day after diagnosis had a hazard ratio of 0.30 for colorectal cancer deaths, compared with those who did not change or changed their intake by less than 0.02 g/day.

The team noted no association between postdiagnostic marine ω-3 PUFA intake and all-cause mortality.